Funny to think of caveman munching away on a Chupa-Chups or a stick of Wrigley's gum.
Well, perhaps not a Chupa-Chup exactly (as it happens 'lollipops' weren't around until approximately 1550AD and chewing gum until 1926) but our 'sweet tooth' was certainly developed as early as 8,000 BC when cavemen roamed the earth, their cave paintings depicting them raiding bees nests in order to get at the honey.
OK, so perhaps sugar, thought to have first been used in the Polynesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean some 5,000 years ago, has never been so widely used - did you know the average American is said to consume twenty teaspoons of added sugar every day, us Brits 238 per week?
My point being that for millennia, whether it be honeycombs or liquorice (commercially marketed by a Scotsman in the late eighteen hundreds) man has relied on sweet stuff for that quick 'sweet fix'. A fact borne out by a confectionery historian who in conjunction with a company who manufactures, you guessed ... sweets has created a timeline (view it here) to show how our love of sweet foods has developed over the centuries.
My question being .... What is your favourite sweet treat?
My point being that for millennia, whether it be honeycombs or liquorice (commercially marketed by a Scotsman in the late eighteen hundreds) man has relied on sweet stuff for that quick 'sweet fix'. A fact borne out by a confectionery historian who in conjunction with a company who manufactures, you guessed ... sweets has created a timeline (view it here) to show how our love of sweet foods has developed over the centuries.
My question being .... What is your favourite sweet treat?
12 comments:
Lots of interesting stuff at that link you provided!
I really do prefer salty or savory snacks to sweets, but that's not to say I don't enjoy my sugar as well (though in recent months I usually choose honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup over sugar as a sweetener).
My favorite sweet treat? I'm probably partial to lollipops (or suckers, as we call them) and hard candies.
Very interesting information Tracy.
My favorite sweet has to be my wife's chocolate peanut butter bomb.
Oh man, I love sweets. Doughnut holes dipped in icing from my fave bakery
Hi Tracy,
I have a definite sweet tooth and there isn't much that I don't enjoy, although I don't particularly like boiled or 'sucky' sweets.
I suppose if I HAD to choose just one thing, then a nice big slice of moist coffee and walnut cake would do it for me, although it has to contain plenty of both coffee and walnuts, to give it that rich strong flavour and to be honest, very few establishments live up to their advertising hype!
Sweet wise, I have so many 'favourites', that I can't possibly single any one out. You definitely can't beat a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate though :)
Nice post - just what I needed at 11.30pm - Now I know I am going to be dreaming about that cake and chocolate all night :)
Yvonne
Favorite sweet treat??? Hmmm.. I seriously cannot choose!!! - http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Interesting facts! My favorite sweet treat? Oh goodness, so many! I definitely have a sweet tooth. Dessert-wise, it's ice cream. Candy wise? I really do like Snicker's bars!
see, I'm not a huge sweet fan...though this holiday season, I've been indulging in the Baclava that I received as a gift. SO GOOD! ^_^
Tracy, I try not too eat too many sweets, although I am a fan of dark chocolate. The coffee and walnut cake that Yvonne mentions sounds divine, especially served with good strong coffee.
I don't like candy but Lemon Cake is my favorite :)
I`m a dark chocolate fan, with jelly beans coming in a distant second.
Those averages are somewhat scary. I personally try to cut down on my sugar because I notice that I break out on my face and feel more lethargic during the day. But my favorite sugary treat is and will always be ice cream. :)
Chocolate is at the top of my sweets list. Right now though, I'm feeling a bit tired of sweets. We have a ton still at our house because of the holidays and I want to just bundle them all up and throw them out.
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